Energy is central for our society to work today, it is a presumption for electricity, food production, transportation, infrastructure and so on. There exists a number of energy sources, such as coal, wood fuel, fossil fuels, oil, gas, nuclear and renewables, but today we heavily rely on fossil fuels.[1] This haven't always been the case and energy transitions have accrued in the past and will have to occur for us to move towards a low carbon economy.[2] Energy faces major challenges and is the dominant contributor of climate change, standing for about 60 % of todays greenhouse gas emissions.[3] It can be stated that energy is a vast subject and energy in relation to food will be in focus in this entry.
Connection to food
The acquisition of food require the expenditure of energy[4] and more specifically energy has a key role in achieving food security and better nutrition.[5] In other words energy is of fundamental importance for the food production system, which sustains billions of people.[6] Currently our society and food systems are mainly based on fossil fuels and this is unsustainable. The modern food systems consumes about 30 percent of the world's available energy and produces more than 20 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.[7] For example there exists no comparable energy source that could sustain the existing infrastructure.[8] This is of course relevant for food as we need the energy to transport the food and maintain the food supply chains. In addition to this the production of food is heavily dependent on fossil fuels to power agricultural machinery and for the supply of fertilizers and pesticides.[9]
The cost for extracting fossil fuels is increasing because we're running out of the low cost resources that our industry is built up on. Consequently the industry is forced to extract fossil fuels from resources that are deeper, more remote and of lower quality.[10] This and the fluctuating energy prices can have huge impacts on global food security as energy prices affect the cost of agricultural inputs and production, and by this influences food prices.[11]
Already now it can be seen that the rise in the prices of energy has resulted in an a heavy increase in the prices of agricultural production under the last decade.[12] In other words the increasing prices in energy also affects our food prices, and if this gets out of control it can lead to food insecurity.
Energy use in food production and distribution contribute substantially to greenhouse-gas emissions.[13] It is therefore essential to deliver more food with less and cleaner energy and move towards more energy-smart food systems.[14] Furthermore energy is often not used efficiently in the food system and food waste is an example of this. It is estimated that about one-third of the food we produce is lost or wasted, and with it an estimated 38 percent of energy consumed in food systems wasted. The bottom line is that investments to improve energy use in food production is needed, and that it is critical in the quest to reduce the environmental footprint.[15]
The video below by FAO explains how the access to energy is essential for development. It highlights developing countries and how combining energy and agricultural needs can result in food security. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (2015).
Critique of concept
As stated before our modern food system heavily relies on fossil fuels as the main source of energy, which is environmentally unsustainable. Overall we need to move towards renewables and alternative energy sources and the energy transition towards more cleaner sources of energy is of fundamental importance.[16] But for this to happen at a faster rate investments by states into renewables needs to increase. One obstacle for this is that in most parts of the world fossil fuels are still heavily subsidised. At a world level, fossil fuel subsidies represent close to 500 billion dollars, which is over four times the value of subsidies to renewable energy.[17] This is of course not the only problem with the movement towards more sustainable forms of energy but it is a strong critique towards many states.
Connection to SDGs
Energy and the challenges of it is mainly related to SDG7 Affordable and Clean Energy, which highlight that energy is central to nearly every major challenge the world faces today, be it jobs, climate change, food production or increasing incomes. Access to energy is essential and sustainable energy an opportunity.
An interesting example of using food food waste to generate renewable energy is done by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). They are using a method of reducing the amount of food waste reaching landfills while at the same time producing renewable energy. They are converting post consumer food scraps to energy via anaerobic digestion, and uses waste haulers to collect post consumer food waste from local restaurants and markets and take it to EBMUD for handling. In the anaerobic digester process, bacteria break down food waste and release methane as a byproducts, and this methane is then captured and used as an renewable source of energy. After this process the leftover material can be composted and used as a natural fertilizer. [18] The video below explains the process more in detail.
Example from Finland
As discussed before, the relation between food and energy is multifaceted stretching from energy used to produce food to the to the recycling of food containers. There are both national and international labels available, illustrating the possibility of recycling of different food containers including e.g. beverage cans and cardboard boxes. The labelling shows options for recycling the container back to reusable raw materials or to be utilized in energy production.[19] The picture below shows how this labelling looks in Finland.
Picture: www.ruokatieto.fi
^ Bardi, U. 2013. The grand challenge of the energy transition. Frontiers in Energy Research. Energy Systems and Policy, Vol.1, Article 2.
^ Bardi, U., Asmar, T. & Lavacchi, A. 2013. Turning electricity into food: the role of renewable energy in the future of agriculture. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 53, p. 224-231
Energy
Definition
Energy is central for our society to work today, it is a presumption for electricity, food production, transportation, infrastructure and so on. There exists a number of energy sources, such as coal, wood fuel, fossil fuels, oil, gas, nuclear and renewables, but today we heavily rely on fossil fuels.[1] This haven't always been the case and energy transitions have accrued in the past and will have to occur for us to move towards a low carbon economy.[2] Energy faces major challenges and is the dominant contributor of climate change, standing for about 60 % of todays greenhouse gas emissions.[3] It can be stated that energy is a vast subject and energy in relation to food will be in focus in this entry.
Connection to food
The acquisition of food require the expenditure of energy[4] and more specifically energy has a key role in achieving food security and better nutrition.[5] In other words energy is of fundamental importance for the food production system, which sustains billions of people.[6] Currently our society and food systems are mainly based on fossil fuels and this is unsustainable. The modern food systems consumes about 30 percent of the world's available energy and produces more than 20 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.[7] For example there exists no comparable energy source that could sustain the existing infrastructure.[8] This is of course relevant for food as we need the energy to transport the food and maintain the food supply chains. In addition to this the production of food is heavily dependent on fossil fuels to power agricultural machinery and for the supply of fertilizers and pesticides.[9]
The cost for extracting fossil fuels is increasing because we're running out of the low cost resources that our industry is built up on. Consequently the industry is forced to extract fossil fuels from resources that are deeper, more remote and of lower quality.[10] This and the fluctuating energy prices can have huge impacts on global food security as energy prices affect the cost of agricultural inputs and production, and by this influences food prices.[11]
Already now it can be seen that the rise in the prices of energy has resulted in an a heavy increase in the prices of agricultural production under the last decade.[12] In other words the increasing prices in energy also affects our food prices, and if this gets out of control it can lead to food insecurity.
Energy use in food production and distribution contribute substantially to greenhouse-gas emissions.[13] It is therefore essential to deliver more food with less and cleaner energy and move towards more energy-smart food systems.[14] Furthermore energy is often not used efficiently in the food system and food waste is an example of this. It is estimated that about one-third of the food we produce is lost or wasted, and with it an estimated 38 percent of energy consumed in food systems wasted. The bottom line is that investments to improve energy use in food production is needed, and that it is critical in the quest to reduce the environmental footprint.[15]
The video below by FAO explains how the access to energy is essential for development. It highlights developing countries and how combining energy and agricultural needs can result in food security.
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (2015).
Critique of concept
As stated before our modern food system heavily relies on fossil fuels as the main source of energy, which is environmentally unsustainable. Overall we need to move towards renewables and alternative energy sources and the energy transition towards more cleaner sources of energy is of fundamental importance.[16] But for this to happen at a faster rate investments by states into renewables needs to increase. One obstacle for this is that in most parts of the world fossil fuels are still heavily subsidised. At a world level, fossil fuel subsidies represent close to 500 billion dollars, which is over four times the value of subsidies to renewable energy.[17] This is of course not the only problem with the movement towards more sustainable forms of energy but it is a strong critique towards many states.
Connection to SDGs
Energy and the challenges of it is mainly related to SDG7 Affordable and Clean Energy, which highlight that energy is central to nearly every major challenge the world faces today, be it jobs, climate change, food production or increasing incomes. Access to energy is essential and sustainable energy an opportunity.
The relation between energy and food strongly relate to SDG2 Zero hunger. To reach this goal, paying more attention to the multifaceted role of energy in e.g. food production including sustainable agriculture and sustainable food production systems with a focus on water and value addition of agricultural activities, food processing, food distribution including rural infrastructure, food consumption and recycling of food waste and food containers is inevitable. As energy is one of the key topics in sustainable development and sustainable consumption and productions patterns (see also ethical consumerism), the topic has a close link to SDG12 Responsible consumption and production. Energy is also a highlighted issue in the discussion related to climate change where detailed targets have been set in SDG13 Climate action. Also SDG14 Life below water and SDG15 Life on land are closely linked to food production and energy.
Organisational example
An interesting example of using food food waste to generate renewable energy is done by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). They are using a method of reducing the amount of food waste reaching landfills while at the same time producing renewable energy. They are converting post consumer food scraps to energy via anaerobic digestion, and uses waste haulers to collect post consumer food waste from local restaurants and markets and take it to EBMUD for handling. In the anaerobic digester process, bacteria break down food waste and release methane as a byproducts, and this methane is then captured and used as an renewable source of energy. After this process the leftover material can be composted and used as a natural fertilizer. [18] The video below explains the process more in detail.
Example from Finland
As discussed before, the relation between food and energy is multifaceted stretching from energy used to produce food to the to the recycling of food containers. There are both national and international labels available, illustrating the possibility of recycling of different food containers including e.g. beverage cans and cardboard boxes. The labelling shows options for recycling the container back to reusable raw materials or to be utilized in energy production.[19] The picture below shows how this labelling looks in Finland.
Picture: www.ruokatieto.fi
External links
Open source articles
Interview
This is an interview about food and energy with Elina Ovaskainen from Motiva.Quiz
Quiz created by Satu V with GoConqr
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/7_Why-it-Matters_Goal-7_CleanEnergy_2p.pdf Retrieved on: 29.3.2017
http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/ Retrieved: 29.3.2017
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/resources/energysubsidies/ Retrieved on 12.4.2017
https://www3.epa.gov/region9/waste/features/foodtoenergy/ Retrieved on: 12.4.2017